CEO says bankruptcy is not goodbye, Ruby Tuesday

Company files for Chapter 11, will close 185 restaurants

Ruby Tuesday introduced plans to close 185 of its restaurants (Ildar Sagdejev via Wikipedia Commons)
Ruby Tuesday introduced plans to close 185 of its restaurants (Ildar Sagdejev via Wikipedia Commons)

Yet another chain is seeking bankruptcy protection after the pandemic decimated its business.

The restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday, introducing with it plans to close 185 locations, USA Today reports. The filing will leave the franchise with 236 operating restaurants.

The company hopes to stay in business, saying in a statement that it had “reached an understanding with its secured lenders to support its restructuring.”

“This announcement does not mean ‘Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday’ but ‘Hello, to a stronger Ruby Tuesday’,” CEO Shawn Lederman said in a statement on the company’s website.

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Sit-down restaurants have been battered by a pandemic that shut down restaurants completely, putting a halt to indoor dining for months in some areas.

But Ruby Tuesday was facing headwinds long before. In court filings, Lederman noted that the chain was challenged by increasing competition from fast-food and fast-casual companies, reduced traffic to its mall-based locations and the rise of new food delivery options.

[USA Today] — Sasha Jones